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Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Not only is is National Blog Posting Month, but more importantly, it's National Diabetes Awareness Month as well!

Diabetes is not a fun thing to have to deal with on a daily basis. I should know. For me, what started out as the usual Gestational Diabetes when I was pregnant with my first child. He ended up weighing 10 lbs. 5 oz. at birth. Yes...and I was only 115 at the time. After childbirth, my diabetes went away. Only to return during my second pregnancy. Again, after the birth of my daughter, the diabetes went away. She was 9 lbs. 2 oz. at birth. Six years later with the pregnancy of my third and final child, I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes yet again. Although my youngest daughter was my smallest weighing only 8 lbs. 5 oz., the diabetes never went away. I now have Type 2 Diabetes and have been weaned off of the insulin after a few years and am just taking medication and monitoring my diet & nutrition. I do have to check my blood sugars (or am supposed to) three times a day, and I can usually make any necessary changes in my meals as needed.

Diabetes leads to many other medical issues, and this I also know personally.

Here's some startling but interesting facts about Diabetes:

With nearly 26 million children and adults in American living with diabetes, and another 79 million at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes, the disease is taking a devastating physical, emotional and financial toll on our country. Yet, most Americans don’t consider diabetes a serious matter. They feel it is someone else’s responsibility; someone else’s problem.

Recent numbers by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention paint a desperate situation of where we are at, and where we are headed:

"Every 17 seconds, someone is diagnosed with diabetes.
Diabetes kills more people each year than breast cancer and AIDS combined.
Recent estimates project that as many as 1 in 3 American adults will have diabetes in 2050 unless we take steps to Stop Diabetes.
Now is the time to act." (source)

Here's how you can help with the fight against this disease:

Become Involved in American Diabetes Month® 2011

November is American Diabetes Month, a time to rally individuals, communities and families to Join the MillionsSM in the movement to Stop Diabetes®. This year, the American Diabetes Association is asking individuals to take a pledge and raise their hand to Stop Diabetes.

Beginning November 1, the public can take action by taking the American Diabetes Month pledge on Facebook.